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“It’s not who you are that holds you back. It’s who you think you’re not.”

– Unknown

About This Week’s Chat: Feeling Like a Fraud

Have you ever felt like a fraud at work? Do you think that one day, everybody will find out that you’re there by mistake? Perhaps you even imagine the time when security escorts you, shamefaced, out of the building.

I want to assure you that you’re not alone! “Impostor Syndrome,” as it’s known, is real for many people, even though they are accomplished, educated, capable and competent.

In fact, I’ve struggled with it at different times in my career. Sometimes it was so bad that I felt useless and unable to do anything properly. (Did you notice the unhealthy internal dialogue there, using an absolute? I felt unable to do anything properly!)

And, if you think it’s only us “regular” people who occasionally feel like impostors, think again. Some very well-known people have talked about feeling “fake,” too.

In the Company of “Impostors”

“I have written 11 books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now,” Maya Angelou, a respected author and poet, once said. “I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out.”

Albert Einstein needs no introduction, but even he felt uneasy about the high esteem in which people held his work. “I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler,” he commented.

And, actor Mike Myers – best known for his “Austin Powers” and “Shrek” movies – quipped that “at any time I still expect the no-talent police to come and arrest me.”

Am I Enough?

If you have Impostor Syndrome, you believe that you don’t deserve your success. You feel that you’re not as intelligent, creative or talented as other people think you are. In our Twitter poll this week, we wanted to know how people mostly experience this feeling of not “being enough.”

A whopping 41 percent of participants voted for “I doubt myself,” while 23 percent said that they focus on their mistakes. Click here to view all of the options, and the results.

In Friday’s #MTtalk chat, we’re asking the question, “Am I Enough?” We’d love you to participate in the chat, and the following questions may spark some thoughts in preparation for it:

When have your feelings of inadequacy caused you to feel like an impostor?

What does “authenticity” mean to you?

Do you ever feel forced to present a certain image in order to get ahead?

What can you do to counter feelings of inadequacy/imposter syndrome?

What stories do you tell yourself when you don’t feel good enough?

How do you think others see you? And does it matter?

Are you enough for you?

Resources

To help you prepare for the chat, we’ve compiled a list of resources for you to browse.

How to Join Our Chat

Follow us on Twitter to make sure that you don’t miss out on any of the action this Friday! We’ll be tweeting out 10 questions during our hour-long chat. To participate in the chat, type #MTtalk in the Twitter search function. Then, click on “All Tweets” and you’ll be able to follow the live chat feed. You can join the chat by using the hashtag #MTtalk in your responses.